Field
The described embodiments relate to techniques for securely booting an integrated circuit in an electronic device. More specifically, the described embodiments relate to techniques for securely booting a wireless-communication integrated circuit in an electronic device using a remote, non-secure memory.
Related Art
Many modern electronic devices include a networking subsystem that is used to wirelessly communicate with other electronic devices. For example, these electronic devices can include a networking subsystem with a cellular network interface (UMTS, LTE, etc.), a wireless local area network interface (e.g., a wireless network such as described in the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standard (which is sometimes referred to as ‘Wi-Fi®’) or Bluetooth® from the Bluetooth Special Interest Group of Kirkland, Wash.), and/or another type of wireless interface.
Many of the functions of the integrated circuit in the networking subsystem are performed by an embedded operating system. In existing electronic devices, this embedded operating system and the associated data is stored in memory that is associated with (and is proximate to) the integrated circuit. When the integrated circuit is turned on, the embedded operating system and the associated data are installed in the integrated circuit.
The use of dedicated memory associated with the integrated circuit can prevent security problems, such as the installation of corrupted or malicious code. However, the dedicated memory increases the cost and complexity of the electronic device.